Muslims advised to show kindness & not label others

KUALA LUMPUR – April 13, 2017: The correct way for Muslims to engage in any dispute with those of different religions and thinking is to do so kindly because it will otherwise heighten religious tensions and encourage extremism.

They are further reminded that the highest code of Islamic ethics has laid down a clear warning to Muslims that they should not take the differences in beliefs as a cause to inflict shortcomings onto others.

In saying this, Muslim World League secretary-general Syeikh Dr. Mohammad Abdul Karim cited a verse from the Quran that says Allah loves those who act justly.

“In fact, our Prophet Muhammad had even described the then unbelieving King of Abyssinia as a righteous king.

“Our religion has reached the zenith of fairness and kindness towards one another,” said the comparative judiciary expert from Yemen’s Al-Iman University at a lecture on Islamic radicalism and liberalism organised by the Malaysian Institute of Moderation here today.

According to the scholar, creating unnecessary labels to denote other Muslims who do not share similar Islamic values and practises may also cause intra-religious strife.

Thus, there should not be any additional descriptions of Muslims because Islam is all-encompassing.

Abdul Karim nonetheless said the labels used to describe those who subscribe to the four major Islamic schools of thoughts — Syafie, Hambali, Maliki and Hanafi — are exceptions.

“These (school of thoughts) are compounded names compiled by their imams and scholars with good intention. But at the end of the day, a Muslim following the faith (of Islam) should just be called a Muslim.

“Those who aren’t satisfied with such an arrangement will probably never be contented with Islam,” he remarked.

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Zaidi Azmi

If Zaidi Azmi isn’t busy finding his way in the city, this 26-year-old northern kampung boy can be found struggling to make sense of the Malaysian political scene. Zaidi can be reached at [email protected]